Bethany Evens Record at 3-3 With 47-39 Win at Westminster

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Freshman QB Matt Grimard accounted
for 286 yards of offense and had a hand in five touchdowns, while
junior RB Eric Walker rushed for 174 yards and scored twice to lead
the Bethany College football team to a 47-39 victory at Westminster
Saturday.

The win raised the Bison's record to 3-3 overall and 2-1
in the PAC, which is the first time BC has had a winning record in
the league since 2001. The Titans fell to 1-4 and 0-3 in the
conference.

The game had a dreadful start for Bethany, as
Westminster's Shane Peterson returned the opening kickoff 62
yards to the BC 25. The Titans would settle for a 26-yard field
goal from that drive, but on the first play after the kickoff,
Grimard fumbled and Westminster recovered at the Bison 17. Two
plays later, Titan QB Shawn Lehocky scampered 10 yards for a
touchdown and a 10-0 Titan lead.

Bethany began to impose their will with their next possession.
Walker broke off runs of 20 and 21 yards and Grimard kept it for a
17-yard pick-up to take the Bison deep into enemy territory. The
eight-play, 77-yard drive ended on a one-yard QB sneak by Grimard,
but the extra point was missed, leaving it a 10-6 Westminster
lead.

After forcing a Titan punt, the Bison methodically moved the
ball downfield for the go-ahead score. The Green and White used 18
plays to march 66 yards and facing a fourth-and-goal at the one,
Grimard went into the end zone on another sneak to give Bethany the
lead for good at 13-10, which was the start of a huge second
quarter for BC.

On Westminster's next drive, freshman FS Jordan Joyce
picked off a pass to snuff out a threat and give Bethany possession
at their own 49. The 10-play, 51-yard drive that followed was
highlighted by Grimard going 3-for-3 through the air for 29 yards
and the freshman signal caller notched his third score of the day
when he took it to paydirt from three yards away to extend the
Bison cushion to 20-10.

Bethany's defense stopped the Titans again and after a bad
snap on the punt led to a short kick, BC took over at their own 44
with 30 seconds to play. The Bison offense needed just four plays
and 23 seconds to take it the distance. Walker began the drive with
a 19-yard run and two plays later, Grimard fired a strike to
freshman WR Chris Collins, who raced 27 yards to the end zone with
only seven ticks showing on the clock to send Bethany to the
halftime locker room with a 27-10 advantage.

After the Bison were forced to punt on their opening possession
of the second half, the defense forced another turnover. Freshman
SS Adrian White intercepted a Lehocky pass and took it back four
yards to the Bison 46. Three plays later, Grimard rolled out to his
left and flipped a short pass to Walker, who sprinted 39 yards for
the touchdown and the extra point ballooned the lead to 34-10.

Bethany's last trip to Westminster two years ago saw them
lose two big leads and end up falling to the Titans as time
expired. The home team would not go away in this one either, as
they answered the Bison score with a six-play, 53-yard drive that
ended on Tyler Banks' eight-yard touchdown run and when
Lehocky tossed the two-point conversion pass to Jim Bonenberger,
the BC lead was cut to 34-18.

A wild fourth quarter began with Bethany getting to the end zone
again. Grimard hit sophomore WR C.J. Thomas with a 33-yard toss for
the big blow, but it was freshman RB Nico Irizarry who carried five
times on the possession for 34 yards, including a four-yard
touchdown jaunt for his first collegiate score. The extra point was
no good after banging off the upright, leaving it a 40-18 Bethany
margin.

The teams exchanged scores on their next possessions again, as
Westminster motored down the field to score on a 22-yard pass from
Lehocky to Geno Pasquinelli. Bethany followed that by appearing to
put the game away with another long drive. The 11-play, 65-yard
march, their third drive of the game that went 10 or more plays,
ended when Walker bulled in from the one for his second score of
the game and the extra point extended the lead to 47-25.

The Titans came back with a pair of touchdowns to get within one
score. The first TD came on a 17-yard pass from Lehocky to Connor
Kobis with 2:26 left to trim the margin to 47-32. The Bison
recovered the onside kick, but turned the ball over on downs and
Westminster raced 67 yards in just five plays and needed only 32
seconds to get in the end zone on a 17-yard pass play from Lehocky
to Austin Cope. The extra point made the difference 47-39 with 54
seconds to play.

The ensuing onside kick was nearly recovered by Westminster, but
ended up going out of the bounds and giving possession to the
Bison. With the Titans out of timeouts, BC downed it twice to
secure the win and snap a 17-game losing streak at Westminster
which dated back to a 9-0 Bethany triumph 70 years ago in 1940.

The backfield duo of Grimard and Walker dominated the storylines
again for the Green and White. Grimard completed 10-of-12 through
the air for a career-high 204 yards and the two scores, while
adding in 82 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Walker carried a
career-high 33 times for 174 yards (5.3 avg.) and scored twice,
while the receivers' efforts were highlighted by sophomore Ed
Holmes (four receptions, 49 yards) and Thomas (three receptions, 76
yards).

The defensive side was paced by sophomore LB Gage Lotozo and
Joyce with nine tackles each. The INTs by Joyce and White were the
first two of the year for the Bethany defense.

Bethany will be abck on the road next week at Thiel (0-5, 0-3),
who was off this weekend. If the Bison can come away with a
victory, it will give them a three-game winning streak and be their
longest since taking five in a row to open the 2001 campaign.
Kickoff in Greenville is slated for 1:30 p.m.